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 Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 1:13 pm
Admittedly, it was harder to focus on his work that day now that Sol knew what was waiting for him.
Suddenly focusing on life's mundane tasks seemed to take entirely too long, and yet, the day itself seemed to drag. Patients came to him complaining of illnesses that were entirely blown out of proportion ("Please, help me, I'm dying! No really, it's real this time!" ), injuries that could have easily been treated at home, and general questions that had nothing to do with him. How was he supposed to exorcise a spirit in an old man's stable? And why did that old codger think it had anything to do with his gout?
By the time he was ready to close up Sol could practically feel his irritation slipping away. He kept his hair pulled back, but instead of letting it stay messy he tried his best to 'fix it up' by adding a few braids to the longer ponytail. It wasn't much, but....well, it was Koril and a part of Sol wanted to look his best. He couldn't really put his finger on why, but maybe a little effort wouldn't be so bad.
When he rose out of his desk chair he heard Sev shifting around on the floor and when he reached out his hand she met him half way. As soon as his fingers touched her large, fat head he smiled. "Ready for this, girl?"
The raptrix nuzzled up against his side and slipped past, noisily making her way toward the front door. Huffing with a little smile, Sol snatched up his walking stitch and made his way outside to wait for Koril.
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 3:02 pm
Koril and his entourage must have made a curious sight to anyone walking by. As he had promised earlier, he had all of his familiars with him to introduce to Sol. None of his familiars were natives of Zena, but all of them were putting up with the cold to varying degrees. Sandstorm trotted along with a slight crouch, though a thick coat was tied around his body to keep him warm. Mekameko was content enough to hang along Koril's shoulders, snuggling into the thick scarf that he was wearing. Trotting along at his side, practically burrowing against his leg, was Flana with a little coat of her own and looking rather grouchy about being back in the cold land. "Just wait until it's actually winter here," he teased his little friends. Would he still be here by then? He hadn't really made any firm plans yet... He could wait until Sol got tired of him!
He chuckled at the thought when Flana suddenly leapt from his side with a sharp yip. "Sol!" he called with an excited wave, watching Flana bee-line for Sev to give her old companion a good sniffing and a nuzzle. "How was work? I hope we didn't keep you waiting long. Flana was being a butt about putting on the coat."
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:56 pm
[2/10]
He felt, rather than saw, Sev taking off with a chorus of loud, happy barking. The raptrix made her way quickly over to Flana and practically bounced around the smaller animal, excitedly flapping her wings in the wind as she greeted her. It was almost too much for the large canine when she saw the other animals as well; so much so that she didn't bother so much as giving Koril a passing glance.
Flana's in a coat? Sol gave a breathless laugh and shook his head. He could only imagine how goofy she must look. "Depending on how long you're planning on staying up North you'll have to look into getting some boots for her." Possibly a few more sets, if he'd remembered correctly. From the sound of things Flana definitely wasn't the only familiar he'd brought along with him.
"So who else do you have with you?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 6:41 pm
Koril laughed with delight at the spectacle the animals made. "Glad to see they remember each other. Hello, Sev, if you care that I'm here." Plus, it distracted Flana from the cold for a minute. "Oh! Boots! That's a good idea. I might try them on her while I'm here then." There was that thought again though. How long was he planning to stay up here? At the moment, he was content to plan on sticking around for a while...
Giving the frolicking pair a wide berth, he walked up to join at Sol's side. "This is Sandstorm. He's made traveling a lot easier than last time." He gently stroked the xaraan's beak, and then switched to give the loatoa's chin a scratch. "This one is Mekameko. She's my newest one. Thankfully, loatoa aren't strangers to cold weather, so she's a bit more content than the others." Mekameko kept to her place along Koril's shoulders, but Sandstorm braved leaning his head in to give Sol an inspection. "So, where are we going?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 1:59 pm
[3/10]
Should I tell him? Was this the right time to say something or...? Sol made a little 'o' and nodded his head as if he could perfectly tell which creature was which. Thanks to the combination of magic and alkidike antennae he could feel that others were around him, but there wasn't much helping him differentiate past that. At the very least he knew what a xaraan was from memory, but the loatoa....what exactly was that?
At first he was only 'aware' that a beast was nearing him, but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. He didn't react at first, though after a moment of 'adjusting', his antennae flickering a fair bit, Sol reached his hand up to tentatively reach out for it. Making contact wasn't seamless, but he got there eventually.
"My cabin isn't far from here. Just a little bit north into the woods." With one last pet to....well, whichever creature he was touching (Sandstorm? It felt xaraan-esque) Sol whistled for Sev. It didn't take his raptrix even a breath to come back to his side, breathing as loud and happy as ever. "Lead the way, girl."
Taking her cue the raptrix started away from the cabin into the tree line. He could hear her wings and the crunch of thick paws on dry twigs, which made it all the easier for Sol to go behind her. "It's nothing fancy, so don't get your hopes up."
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Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2020 7:02 pm
Assuming the slight awkwardness was just Sol using caution in introducing himself to a strange animal, Koril reached out to stroke Sandstorm's long neck affectionately. "Good boy. Traveling has been really good for him. Back home, he might not've approached you like this. Not that he didn't like people, but he was shy." Of course, he could have spent ages talking about the animals... mention of the cabin got him back on track.
He laughed lightly and fell in line behind Sol to make walking through the trees easier. "Aww, are you sure? I can see you living in a big mansion with one of those beds that has so many furs and pillows that you have to take five minutes to make it every morning, and an oven that you need those really long tongs for to get anything out of it!"
Flana had hurried to trot alongside Sev, playfully darting through the large canine's legs as they walked. Meanwhile, Sandstorm brought up the rear.
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Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 1:11 pm
I can empathize. As someone who wasn't the first to approach anyone Sol could see where Sandstorm's hesitancy came from. He didn't know exactly how to take it that the creature had picked him of all people to extend that branch out to, but...well, it was nice.
"A mansion?" He laughed. "What kind of coin do you think my family has? We're merchants, at best." And those were his grandmothers. His fathers sold jewelry, performed sword dances and did odd work wherever they camped for the night. Still, the image of such a luxurious bed didn't sound terrible and he had to smile at the thought. "It would be nice to stay in a place like that for a few nights. I've heard about bathing tubs that are so big you can swim in them and if you go to the right places they can actually warm the water for you."
This far north if you wanted warm water you had to heat the kettle yourself, and any bathing was usually so fast you barely had time to enjoy it. Prolonged exposure to water, even while warm, was just too big of a risk.
It didn't take long to enter a small clearing. Off to one side was a modest cabin, smooshed up against the tree line, instead of out in the open where one might have put one. Instead, in that spot was a clear outline where a cabin had once stood, but the only thing that remained now were a few stones and an old well.
"Well, this is it. Hardly a mansion, but it's home." He moved towards the door, and with a practiced ease open it, revealing a small, yet tidy, home. There were no walls separating the space, but it hardly needed it. Decorations were sparse, if not clinically bare, with just the bare necessities to keep a person going. The entire cabin smelled of a warm stew that sat gurgling on a low fire. "I'm not much of a cook, but you can't really mess up stew."
Sev walked into the space boldly, pausing just long enough to dip her head down and give Flana a lick before going over towards the fire.
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Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2020 7:36 pm
Koril grinned at Sol's reaction. "Well, I don't know. You could have stumbled into a fortune or something~" Actually, his bed back home was quite lovely, though the weather was warm enough that a bunch of furs were not needed. Not everyone got lucky enough to have a mother who was able to return to her home and reclaim her family fortune... Their bath certainly wasn't big enough to swim around in though! That was an interesting image.
"Home is the important part," he assured, voice softening just a bit. He could still remember his family's pre-fortune life. He had been happy as a youngling; he didn't get everything he wanted, but he'd pretty much had all he needed. Money did not make the home. It was the people. ..Who did Sol have? "It looks like your office," he teased with a playful smirk. "Smells better though."
Flana snorted and shook her head, readily following Sev over to the fire. She let out a pleased purr of a grumble and basked in the heat. Sandstorm paused at the door though and gave a confused squawk.
Koril gave the xaraan a confused look before ducking his head in embarrassment. "Oh, does Sandstorm just come in here? I'm sorry, I didn't think to ask if you had a stable for him and we can't just leave him out in the open..."
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 3:47 pm
"I'm surprised it doesn't smell like wet raptrix" Sol groused. He moved towards the cauldron gurgling on the fire, holding his hand out to feel the heat. At first he missed the pot entirely, thankfully touching the pole holding it aloft, but that was enough to give him direction. He shifted gears, reached down and grabbed the ladle to stir it. From the smell alone the healer could tell it was done, but he wanted to make sure it hadn't stuck. Even if he had asked his co-worker to check on it periodically throughout the day hat didn't mean the old man had actually done it.
"Bring him in. I don't have a stable and it's not safe to be outside on your own at night. If the cold doesn't get him then what walks in the dark will." It's not like he'd ever had a problem sharing his space with animals. Sev had practically slept next to him her entire life, regardless of what his parents wanted.
"Would you mind getting some bowls together? They'll be on a shelf near the table. There's enough here for all of us, but I'm not really sure what your creatures eat."
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:41 pm
Koril smirked lightly. Even if it did smell like Sev, he probably wouldn't have noticed. Animal smells all just blended into regular smells for him at this point. Besides.. it wasn't polite to point out smells unless they were pleasant ones~
"Thanks. Come in, good boy." He shut to door behind everyone and encouraged Sandstorm to settle off to the side. Instead, the xaraan trotted over to join the others by the fireplace, next to Flana who was leaning against Sev. Koril couldn't help laughing at the sight of the three large animals contently absorbing the heat. "Hey, leave some for the rest of us," he scolded playfully, though he bypassed the group to peek into the pot Sol was working on. "I've got food for all of them, so we can keep the stew to ourselves if ya want," he said as he reached for the indicated bowls.
When he turned away, Mekameko made her move. Intrigued by the scent of the stew, she hopped off from Koril's shoulders and padded quickly over to Sol's side. Nose in the air, she took it upon herself to leap onto the perch of Sol's shoulder for a better view.
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:57 pm
Sev passively looked up to Koril and in protest she slowly raised on wing, then pointedly laid it over the other two like a blanket.
"You say that like Sev doesn't expect a helping for herself." In all honesty keeping her food separate from his had been a lost cause the moment the pup had come to live with him. She would constantly steal from him and he'd just become accustomed to cooking raptrix-friendly meals so she'd at least be safe from a stomach ache.
It was too hard to pinpoint energies with so many in such a small space so Sol had no warning that the smaller creature was making a move. He was busy stirring the stew, passively lifting the ladle to give it a good sniff when she landed on his shoulder. All at once he flung the ladle, giving a good shocked gasp as it clattered against the wall. His antennae practically stood straight on his head and his heart couldn't have beat louder.
"S-so-sorry, I didn't - I should have paid attention." He'd almost slipped again by saying 'I didn't see her'. Still, he didn't make a move forward because he wasn't entirely sure where the spoon was, if it had even been full, what needed cleaning, etc.
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:39 pm
Another light chuckle sounded. "Okay, a bowl for her, too." So then, Sol, himself, Sev, and each of his would probably like at least a taste.. It sure was a full house to be feeding!
The loatoa gave a startled growl and gripped Sol's clothes before rethinking her choice. She quickly leapt back down to the floor and scurried to the highest perch that she could find. From there, she glared back at Sol with tails twitching to show her displeasure.
What had just happened? Koril spun around to see Mekameko darting off and Sol looking rather frazzled while the ladle rocked on the floor in a small puddle of stew. "What? No, I'm sorry. I didn't realize she had even gone over there," he quickly offered. "She's really doing well with her training, but I guess I have more to work on. I didn't think she'd bother you." He had started to go check on Mekameko, but a look over his shoulder made him pause. Sol wasn't moving... Biting his lip, he walked over to pick up the ladle and held it out apologetically. "Are you mad? She won't do it again. I'll clean up the floor, too."
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 7:49 pm
"It's not her." He answered with a little more bite then he'd meant to. The whole situation had him rattled and as much as he wanted to keep his composure he just...couldn't. Sol had been on guard since the first day he'd woken up completely in the dark and he'd grown so used to letting it down in his own home that he hadn't thought...So much for easing into this.
Taking an unsteady breath, the taller hybrid ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled to calm himself. "...She didn't do anything wrong. I just...I didn't see her." His voice was quieter now, as if the admission was somehow a sin that was being confessed. He only vaguely reacted to Koril moving around, and as far as the ladle...there was no way for him to know it was being offered. "It's gone completely now, Koril. When I left you in Jauhar...that was the last time I saw anything. My antennae help me to sort of 'sense' when things are around and with magic I can detect life energy, but when there's too much in a room I can't focus enough to piece it together."
Rather than being mad he was more embarrassed than anything. This wasn't how he wanted Koril to find out. He'd planned on having a little talk over dinner or...maybe never, really.
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:20 pm
Koril's posture slumped a little. In his mind, the chain of command for being mad at the situation meant he was the one in trouble. Sol really seemed distressed by the whole thing! Was it that bad? He opened his mouth to try explaining more, but caught himself and backed off. He had learned over the years that it was sometimes better to listen than to dive headfirst into troubled waters.
At first, he didn't get it. His gaze shifted over to Mekameko's ruffled shape with confusion. "I mean, she's pretty stealthy.." he murmured before biting his tongue. Just listen and figure out what was being said. Once he realized what was going on, the links steadily clicked into place. The signs had been there, but he'd been oblivious.
He felt like an idiot holding out the ladle now, and he quickly turned to hook it onto the fire pit. "You stubborn goof," he gently teased, feeling.. what was this? There was a contentment in the apparent trust he was being shown, but also, something hurt. Trying to shake it off, he grabbed a towel and knelt down to start wiping at the mess on the floor. "You're saying that like you did something bad. It looks like you've been doing really good since I last saw- I mean- sorry- since Jauhar. It's really impressive, Sol."
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Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 10:40 am
[8/10]
It felt...awkward, to just stand there while hearing Koril move about his own home, cleaning up his mess. He wanted to help, but with so many feet in such a small space he didn't want to run the risk of making things worse. So, for the moment, he simply pursed his lips and stood with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning his head in the general direction of Koril's voice.
"....It's why I never wrote back to you. You wrote letters, right? The old man I work with told me you did and he asked if I wanted him to read them to me. I didn't want him to see anything; it just felt...wrong somehow." With a huff he bent down, unable to just stand back and do nothing. Pulling a cloth from his waist band, he felt around for a mess, naturally gliding his fingers right into a pile of it. With a frown he wiped it up. "I'm only doing as well as I am because I grew up in these woods so I know them without needing to see. It's just...easier here."
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